Children of Sun (Oracle's Legacy)

by R. B. Holbrook

  "No. No." Granger was dumbfounded. Where the hell did Joc come from?

  "Then what the hell?" Joc shouted, pointing at Ollie nestled in his bed.

  Granger scrambled for his sweatpants on a hook on the bathroom door, then headed for the hallway, taking Joc with him.

  Joc pulled away from him as Granger pulled the door closed.

  "Look, Joc, she just wanted to crash in my room. It's nothing."

  "Nothing. Nothing? Bitch, you are half-dressed, and she's in your bed." Joc temper was starting to take over his common sense.

  "I just got out of the shower, man. Look, talk to Ellis. He knows we didn't do anything last night."

  Joc just stared at the man.

  "We all right?"

  "Hell, naw. Why the hell you got guilt all over your face, like you just possessed someone?" Joc knew him too well.

  Granger rubbed his chin. How had it come to this? "You're my best friend, so I've got to be honest. I want to sleep with her."

  Joc snapped back as if he'd been punched. He turned abruptly and stomped away. Granger slipped on his sweatpants and ran after him, draping the towel over his shoulders. "Joc--"

  "Fuck you."

  "Listen." Granger ran in front of him.

  "Did you just hear that shit back there? 'Cause I just did. And you want me to listen to more." Joc walked around him, heading into the rec room.

  "You need to know. If you are going to end this, you need to know it all." Granger could feel Joc's confusion and pain. Betrayal. Damn.

  "What the hell for?" Joc shouted, turning around. "Do you really want me to hate you? 'Cause I'm trying not to."

  "I can't lie to you anymore. I've had feelings for her long before you met her."

  "Get the hell away from me." Joc trudged through the rec room and up the stairs to the main deck.

  Granger followed. "I kissed her--"

  Joc turned around and landed a fist on Granger's jaw. The blow made him step back, and he blinked away the pain. "You're my House brother. I pledged that to you and you to me. Family!" Joc shouted in rage. "And you kissed her." He drew back again.

  "He's lying!" Ollie shouted from the stairs as she ran up to them. "I was the one who kissed him." She stopped right in between them, breathing hard, guarding Granger with her body.

  Joc eased back in disbelief. "What? Is this some sick revenge for sleeping around on you? You take my best friend away from me?"

  "Arrogant ass! How I feel about Granger has nothing to do with what you did." She sounded so reasonable. Granger couldn't believe it was Ollie. "Remember what I told you when we broke up?"

  "Yeah, something about you never loving me. I was just some plaything. But you only said it 'cause you were angry and hurt." Joc was calming down. Good.

  "I told you the truth. Mostly. You were fun, and I had real feelings for you, but I didn't love you. I felt more betrayed than broken-hearted." Joc frowned as she continued. "When I realized how easy it was to separate myself from you, that's when I knew I didn't love you." She took in a deep breath and exhaled, letting the truth escape. "That's why I didn't kill you and wouldn't let my family. Because I had been in a fake relationship all along."

  Joc began to laugh hysterically. "So easy to remove yourself, huh? Just like turning a trick." Granger clenched his fist on hearing his words. "Did you fake the orgasms like one too?" He reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. "Here, let me pay you for my time. And his too. Slut."

  Without thinking, Granger rushed at the guy. Ollie grabbed hold of him, struggling to stop him.

  "Granger!" she shouted. His ship's navigator jumped from the upper deck to pull Granger back.

  "Son of a bitch," Joc said, backing up. "You really do have feelings for that …" Joc groaned. "She's yours. I'm done with that anyway." He cast them away with a wave of his hand. "Oh, and by the way, I came to let you know about them puppies you love so much," Joc sneered at Ollie.

  "Puppies?" She frowned, confused.

  "Yeah, the mutts you live with. Well, animal control came and picked them up. Along with that old bitch you all call Mama, but they had to put one down--"

  Before Granger could stop her, Ollie sailed at Joc, sending him to the floor and landing on his chest.

  Granger felt Ollie's guard drop, releasing the darkness from its cage. It escaped like a gale-force wind. Straddling him, she squeezed the length of his neck, choking him hard as he struggle to loosen her grip.

  "What the hell did you say?" she growled like a savage animal. "Where is my family?"

  Granger tried to approach her, but the closer he got, the darker the area got. The horror penetrating his skin made him stumble back into safety. Ollie was throwing off her power like a shield, a weapon, keeping everyone at bay. It was a dark, sinister evil he had never felt before. Clawing at him. Laughing at him.

  "Tell me." Her growl turned into a seductive moan as she began enjoying the pain she was inflicting.

  "Ellis!" Granger shouted, knowing that her twin was the only one who could neutralize her power. Ellis was behind him, standing next to his navigator, who stared in fear. Ellis hesitated, knowing his sister's cruelty and fearing her just the same.

  "Ellis!" Geo's voice rang from the upper deck as he ran down to help. "Ellis!"

  Ellis finally snapped out of it and went for her. Spreading his energy like a blanket, he began easing her mind. Granger felt his own self calm.

  Feeling his presence calming her, immediately she screamed, "No! Let me do this!"

  Ellis took her arms and pulled her hands from the man's throat before holding her.

  Granger went to Joc, who was struggling to breathe. His throat strained until finally he got a long, ragged pull of air. The pain brought tears to his eyes. If Ollie had been a more muscular woman, Joc would be dead.

  "Joc didn't take them, Olivia. He didn't touch them," Ellis told Ollie over and over as she cried.

  "I …" Joc tried to talk, but the pain was too great.

  "Just rest, man." Granger looked down at his friend. How did it come to this? How?

  One of the medical staff was soon checking out Joc, and Granger stayed close. He looked back at Ollie and saw that she had her eyes closed, bearing down on the pain in her back, now half-covered by her seal. He looked down at Joc and then back at Ollie. It all made sense now. The pain, the spread of her seal, all of it was related to her darkness. Each time a traumatic event affected her, the seal spread. The more traumatic it was, the more it spread.

  When he had talked with a Heart scholar at the Temple of Enlightenment, he was told, "House of Moon is different from the other Houses, in that they exhibit great darkness. That is their nature. Chaos is their burden. But they serve a purpose greater than all other Houses. For in chaos comes order. That is why Heart and Moon have always been allies. They need the balance as much as we need the imbalance."

  Could their enlightenment be different from other Houses as well?

  ()()()

  They set up Joc in a room to heal as Ollie pulled herself together. She sat on the deck floor with Ellis for a long time, neither one saying anything to anyone. She really had tried to kill Joc. No matter how mad she'd been with him, she never would have done that. It wasn't that she couldn't, but she normally had better control than that. Had she let her condition get that bad? Letting herself stay shut off was making her crazy. Mama was right. Holding back was causing others pain. Geo and Granger finally came back outside after a long discussion, which involved her.

  "Ollie, how are you?" Geo asked.

  "I just tried to kill an innocent man. I feel like a saint." Ollie narrowed her eyes.

  "Point taken."

  "What happened, Geo? Where is our family?" She tried to hold back the mounting anger.

  "They were attacked on the road several miles outside Kansas City, Kansas. Troy is … in critical condition. Shot him three times. Put up a hell of a fight."

  Ollie ground her teeth. Troy? She wanted to cry to scream. "Will he
make it?"

  "Star is going to see what she can do." That wasn't an answer, and he knew it. Ollie wanted to beat the living hell out of him. But the way she was feeling, if she began, it would never end. "They captured the rest of them. All of them. Including Mama. They will trade all for you."

  "Fine." Ollie stood up.

  "Hell--" Geo started.

  "No." Ellis finished.

  "It's easy," she said. Her miserable hide for her family.

  "No, Ollie, it's not," Geo groaned. "They know you are connected to Moon."

  "Big damn deal. If it gets our family back, I'll be a damn chicken," she said, walking past him. Geo grabbed her arm and pulled her to his chest.

  "Ollie." He had so much pain in his voice. The decision was tearing him up. Hell. "We are going to find them. We have trackers working on it--the best our money can buy. But we will not divide this family further."

  Ollie sighed. "Did they get the mainframe?"

  "Yeah. They will try to hack it, I'm sure."

  "Has Vlad tracked them?" Ollie asked him, pulling away from him but staying close. Their sister Vlad was a blood tracker and could track the family using her blood ties to them.

  "She's working on it, but you know it takes her a while. We don't have days. Bones could be without his injection."

  "They better feed him, or--"

  "Yeah." Geo stepped back. "I'm taking Ellis with me."

  "You're leaving me here?"

  "Yes."

  "Geo, they are my--"

  "Keeps you from trying to turn yourself in."

  Ollie finally screamed, taking the stress from her chest. She walked off, trying not to think about how much she wanted to swim toward land. Geo was a real dickhead.

  "Ollie." Ellis ran up to walk beside her.

  "Go, man. I'll be all right." She continued walking, wiping the tears from her face, but he cut her off with his height, blocking her exit.

  "Listen." He deflated his lungs. "Let Granger help you. It seems to be doing you some good."

  She had just tried to kill Joc, and she was doing good?

  "I mean …" He looked so torn. Damn it all.

  "Be safe, Ellis. Bring our family home." Ollie wrapped her arms around her fearful brother. "And I will try to behave," she lied.

  "Hmmm." Clearly he didn't believe her. "We'll bring them home," Ellis said, hugging her back. Ollie ignored the pain as she felt her guard slip. It was becoming harder and harder to sustain it. But it didn't matter. Hiding was no longer the answer.

  Standing on the top deck, wind blowing past her, she watched as the helicopter that held Geo and Ellis headed for the coast. She walked down to the rec room, where she stopped and looked up at the ceiling. Everything hurt. She wanted to cry, but it wouldn't do any good. She wanted to kill, but the object of her frustration was on dry land, holding her family. Troy was in the hospital, fighting for his life, and she couldn't do a damn thing about it. And if he died … he was a tough one. No way he would die, or she would bring him back from the dead just to yell at him.

  She walked to the pool table and began to rack up the pool balls. Grabbing a pool stick from the rack on the wall, she looked at it. Blood needed to spill, but she had to be careful. There was more at stake than just her own need to see her family safe. Grabbing the chalk on the table, she chalked the end of the pool stick, blowing off the excess. She set down the chalk and pulled out her cell phone.

  " 'ey, Loon," George answered.

  "Are you busy?" she asked.

  George laughed. "You know I always 'ave time for me cousin."

  "Then tell me--who's stationed in Louisiana?" she asked, clearing her mind.

  ()()()

  "Granger." Arjun peeped into the room that Joc was sleeping in, healing.

  Granger got up and went out into the hall. He was so focused on Joc that he had paid no attention to Ollie. "Is she still on board?" He closed his eyes, dreading the worst.

  "Yes. She is playing pool as we speak."

  Granger reached out to her and was almost knocked back by the pain that came from her. It was ready to explode within her. And still she didn't leave.

  How was he going to handle her if she lost control again? How could it be done without possessing her?

  "Keep an eye on Joc." Granger patted Arjun on the arm before heading to the rec room.

  When he walked into the room, he saw that she stood looking down at the table, transfixed. Not thinking about her next move on the pool table, but her next move off the ship.

  "How are you going to play this?" he said, not talking about the game.

  "I'm working it out," she said, looking up at him, knowing exactly what he meant. He loved her honesty. Her face didn't hide the pain or sadness. It hid nothing. Every muscle was tight. Even her fire and green eyes gleamed. "I'm surprised you are having a conversation with me after I tried to kill your best friend. I'm even more shocked you haven't made me walk the plank." She walked around the table to face him before leaning back against it. She folded her arms in front of her, pressing the pool stick to her body. Her intense glare was killer.

  "I know what happened. I saw it all. I know you were angry and not all coherent. And I see the remorse you have now. As well as the pain."

  "How is he?" she asked, evading.

  "He'll be fine. A little bruised, but fine. The healer said all he needs is rest." Granger began to take in some of her pain.

  "Don't." She tried to move away.

  "I want to." He stepped closer.

  "Let's not fool each other, Granger. You have to choose between him and me. So I'm going to make that choice for you--"

  He grabbed her, taking her pain and her lips. Kissing her, he pressed her against the pool table as her hands grabbed hold of his arms.

  "Wait, but …" she breathed, pulling back, moving the pool stick from between them and letting it fall to the floor.

  "Do you want me?" he asked, moving back toward her lips.

  "Do you read minds?" She licked his bottom lip.

  "Then what's the problem?"

  She backed away and looked him in the eyes. "Who are you?" she said, confused. "Where is my cautious, careful Caesar?" she asked.

  "It's simple reasoning that took me a while to figure out, and I needed a friend to point out it to me." Especially since he couldn't focus whenever she was around. "Why should I choose? I want you both, plain and simple. The only thing left to decide is whether you want me. I make the decision yours. If Joc still wants me as a friend, then he will have to accept that you are a part of my life as well. And vice versa."

  "Very simple." She grinned, leaning in to kiss him. This time she was slow, passionate, tasting him with increasing pressure and heat.

  Wrapping her in his arms, taking the pain, he lifted her up on the pool table.

  She pulled back. "You do realize," she breathed, "I'm going to hurt you eventually or get you hurt."

  "I know. I'm prepared to accept the consequences. And even face your family."

  She looked at him, wide-eyed with shock. And smiled. "I could definitely love you." She giggled. She couldn't believe he was willing to take on her and her family. Even she felt what kind of headache that could cause. She was a whirlwind, and standing up to her family would be no walk in the park. Especially Ellis.

  But right now that did not matter. Making her forget about the pain and her family was more important. Granger grinned, bending down to kiss her again.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and ran her hands along his chest, down to the edge of his T-shirt. She pulled back only long enough to lift the material up and over his head. He took her head into his hands, kissing her again. "I don't want an audience," he breathed.

  "We'll be too busy to notice," she moaned, running her hands down the back of his pants, caressing his buttocks.

  Heat shot between his legs. If he didn't find a room soon, he might not care about an audience. He lifted her off the table, and she put her feet down on the floor.


  As she reached for the waist of his sweatpants, he took her hand. Pulling her to the steps down to the living area, he opened the first guest room. He yanked her inside urgently, and she laughed before closing the door.

  ()()()

  Arjun left Joc's room for a moment to find out how close they were to the next port. They were not far from Florida, and Arjun wanted to gas up and restock before they headed for Mexico. It would only be a day before they reached a reasonable location.

  "Arjun?" The ship's communication's officer looked up at him with an odd expression. "I just picked up an outbound call … from Joc's room," the woman said. Her powers allowed her to pick up and send different frequencies though the air. A handy power if the communications system on the ship went down for some reason.

  "To where?"

  "It is a New York-bound call. Blade headquarters."

  Arjun's blood ran cold. Oh, no. He didn't. Ollie.

  He ran down to Joc's room and opened the door. Sure enough, Joc was on the bed, on the phone. Arjun launched for the phone, hanging it up.

  "Are you crazy?" Arjun growled.

  "She needs … to be stopped. You didn't … the evil … coming from her. She is going to kill him." He took in a long, ragged breath as he struggled. "I don't want him … dead. Do you?"

  "The only one who will end up dead is you. Do you know what you have done?" Arjun's breath grew shallow as he sat down to catch himself. "Do you know what they will do to you?"

  "Blade?"

  If only he were that lucky.

  "No. Moon."

  ()()()

  17

  Ollie's head rested on Granger's bare chest, as she looked up at him lazily. Her hand traced the design of his seal, delighting in how it covered almost all of his skin. She crawled up his body before lying in his arms.

  Damn, why didn't I do this earlier? he thought as he kissed her on her forehead covered in a light dew of sweat.

  Then Granger felt Ollie's pain worsen. An unusual guilt consumed her, but he couldn't get past her defenses to understand why, and she wouldn't say anything about it.